Core A: Administrative Core - Gerald W. Hart, Core Director The Administrative Core will have several overall functions: 1) Provide all logistic support for all PEG activities; 2) Coordinate activities within the Program and between the Program and the Administrative Center; 3) Serve as the central contact point for the Shared Resources Core; 4) Organize and plan meetings with the external and internal advisory committees; 5) Help with the logistics, organization and operation of the Glycosciences Skills Development Course; 6) Resolve and track budgetary issues and provide each Project and Core with monthly reports on their fiscal status. 7) Oversee the applications, review process and provide logistic support to the Internal Advisory Committee in their annual selection of a CardioGlycoBiologist Postdoctoral Fellow by a peer-reviewed competitive process. In order to provide more funds for the actual research and teaching mission of the PEG, the salary support requested for this Core by the Core Director and his Administrative Assistant have been kept small. However, this Core and the PEG will have the direct expert help of the Administrative Office of the Department of Biological Chemistry, which includes our Administrator, an Administrative Manager, two budget analysts, and two full time secretaries. These individuals all report directly to Dr. Hart. The Administrative Core will schedule and provide logistic support for the bi-weekly meetings of the Project and Core Leaders. It will schedule and coordinate the Monthly evening pizza research meetings in which Project and Core members will present their research progress. The Core will monitor participation by all members of the PEG in these activities to ensure the PEG mission is met. In addition, Biological Chemistry will continue to provide the venue and support for the Baltimore/Washington Glycobiology Interest Group (GIG) Meetings, which have been meeting here (generally 30 to 50 people/month) for many years. The Core will ensure that all reports required by NHLBI are done on time and in the correct format. Drs. Hart Zachara and van Eyk will ensure that the Biol. Chemistry seminar program invites at-least 4 glycoscientists per year who may also present at the Baltimore/Washington GIG meetings. The Core will organize and provide logistical support for an annual retreat with oral and poster presentations by all PEG participants, which will be coordinated with the annual review by our external review panel of leading glycoscientists. This PEG will not only advance our understanding of the roles of glycoconjugates in cardiovascular disease, but also will enhance the visibility of the field at JHUSOM, especially to cardiologists. RELEVANCE (See instructions): This Program of Excellence in Glycosciences (PEG) will establish a synergistic team of scientists to elucidate the various roles of glycoconjugates in cardiac function and disease. This Administrative Core will provide the essential logistical, fiscal, administrative, and coordination necessary to engender and facilitate productive interactions and collaborations that will allow the researchers to focus on science and not be distracted by administrative issues.